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ASHEVILLE - A farm has been cited by the state for water quality violations related to discharge of pollutants into Hominy Creek.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources cited Crowell Farms in a Dec. 30 letter on violations of discharge without a valid permit, water quality standards and permit conditions.

Water quality monitoring of the Hominy Creek site found high levels of E. coli in the first weeks of December, triggering the state agency to investigate on Dec. 18, said Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson. Mountaintrue gathers weekly data on the quality of the French Broad River at more than 20 sites around the watershed.

Carson said samples were "hundreds of times" the safe level both during a rain event and a second time when it wasn't raining. Crews found a "very foamy, smelly discolored discharge coming from the farm," Carson said.

An investigation found a pipe from Crowell Farms on Pond Road was discharging animal waste that was then flowing directly into the creek, Carson said. "Basically just raw animal waste going into Hominy Creek," he said.

The letter from DENR describes a "corrugated plastic pipe emanating from the bank of an unnamed tributary" discharging a blackish discolored water. That tributary flows to Hominy Creek. The pipe is downslope from the farm's waste holding ponds.

The farm's owner, Michael Crowell, "noted the visible impact to the stream" during the on-site investigation, the letter states.

The letter said the farm's owner needed to take action beyond sealing the end of the pipe, and rather trace the pipe to its source and seal it at that point and along its length or remove it entirely.

The pipe remains in place but the inlet has been completely blocked so no flow is occurring nor expected to reoccur from that pipe and source, Landon Davidson of the Division of Water Resources said in an email Wednesday.

The state also investigated the farm on Dec. 31 based on an odor complaint, according to a letter sent to the farm Monday. The investigation revealed three active wastewater discharges.

Davidson said two black, 1-inch diameter pipes were removed on Dec. 31 by Division of Water Resources staff. The third discharge pipe remains in place, but flow was stopped on that date, Davidson said.

Carson said the facility should be spraying waste on the field, but was instead piping it into the creek.

The pollution is a "substantial impact," though not the only source of pollution in the creek, Carson said. While high levels of nutrients are problematic for river safety because they can cause algae growth, E. coli is the most concerning for human health, he said.

"It's particularly problematic considering people really do use that creek a lot for recreational purposes and it's not very far from the French Broad either," Carson said.

Carson said agencies including Asheville Greenworks and the Soil and Water Conservation District will likely work with the owner on additional improvement measures as well as removing the pipe. Cows from the farm currently access the creek, causing erosion and further pollution, Carson said.

"We're hoping the next step will be removing the pipe and also getting the cows out," Carson said.